Trae

in reply to "Fear is what makes this fun. " .................... It's more fun being ten foot tall and bullet-proof One thing about skydiving is it enables you to overcome your fears and replace them with survival tactics. This can be a very empowering experience especially if you're used to a dull life. It is possible to get a bit hooked on scaring yourself to get a buzz . This is not really what skydiving is all about...at least for most people . Fear can totally immobilse a person & sometimes people are afraid for good reason. If you are experiencing fear that limits your ability to operate in a potentially stressful situation ( eg a malfunction) then perhaps it would be wiser to get up to speed with a slightly safer sport where one little fear related episode won't necessarily ruin you life. Trust in yourself is something that develops over time and if nurtured realistically with safety consciousness will get you as far in the sport as you realistically want to go. Enjoy ..don't be frightened

Not long ago ..... at a DZ far far away....... ..at about 500' I was flying next to & a little above a HP canopy whose pilot was watching the ground . This pilot hook turned into me without looking passing just beneath my automatically raised legs. I could have easily touched the topskin . Somehow expecting this to happen made it turn out OK . Said pilot had no idea we had come so close to trouble. pathetic but still deadly.

in reply to "Why have they quit telling people that they were too hot ? I've haven't seen this type of evil since Darth Vader. " ............. The point is like in hypothermia and other brain/body affected happenings (eg excessive alchohol/drug use ) the hot ones don't get it.. until perhaps too late... especially when adrenaline and rushing for that next skydive get into the the equation. If Darth was in charge would it be any different? Some of the little children out here NEED guidance not sarcasm.

You could design it so's you could aim it a bit giving different angles of throw. I like the idea of adjustable boost. Making it compact enough to set up at a BASE site would be challenging. Some form of combination throw may work to keep G's down like in a catapult that swings and throws as opposed to a simple slingshot. This could help keep it more compact as well. Hope you get it done.

Guarana is caffiene too??? .................without the ratty coffee dumps. ie it lets you down a little softer. Vigs and V (some) martial artists agree.

in reply to "i thought it was a requirement to wear an emergency rig if you have jumpers aboard. am I wrong? " ........ Me too. this operator made his own rules ...and enforced them by pointing to the door. Seeing skydiver drivers with rigs on usually makes me feel much better about their degreee of common sense.

It's been a bumper year for fatalities so far this Oz summer. Any-one who has suffered through an Australian summer without air-con might realise how the heat can turn people a bit troppo. Any-one not used to real heat is going to be seriously affected. There doesn't appear to be any checks or balances in place with this. Perhaps the need to turn over the $$$$ during the brief summer hols is also having its affect. Used to be responsible DZ operators would call a halt if it was noticed people were getting TOO HOT. Tourists especially or people out of their normal (temperature) comfort zone need to especially watch out for this. In the heat it is advisable to slow down a bit and not try for as many jumps as you'd normally do. In the middle of the day take a rest . Do your jumps in the morning and later in the day. Don't let any hot heads push you along if what you'd really prefer to be doing is cooling off.... by going for a swim instead of a skydive. Stay cool & stay safe

Why the clash with Kjerag heli boogie.? Any-one?? can the heli boogie be moved forward a bit?? ....so us remote dwellers can do both . Choosing between these two boogies sucketh.

A little while ago I came across a DZ/aircraft operator who insisted his pilots NOT wear parachutes. Hearing the young pilots complain about this reminded me of WW1 in the British camp where the pilots weren't issued parachutes cause they were expected to do everything to save the plane even go down with it. Anyway this modern version expected his pilots to land the plane not exit it. This was at a well known DZ . Seeing these pilots without rigs made me more than a bit nervous for them. Not long previously one of these aircraft had gone in with the pilot only getting out at the last moment. Apparently his wife had insisted he wear a parachute after a premonition. Folk lore or truth?? Should an aircraft ever be valued above the safety of its pilots?

Hop n pops are a fave no-brainer. Hop n pop skills can save your life if you ever have to get out low . Hop n pops can be the cheapest form of skydiving. I once did one for less than $1 in the late 80's Some DZ's price hop n pops out of the game.. making them too expensive . Some backward DZ's I've jumped at recommend every-one stays in the plane if there's aircraft trouble under 2000'. I've seen trained skydivers take over 1000' to get stable doing hop n pops ... Hop n pops rock.

in reply to "This is $2 Trillion. Or $7,000 for every man, woman and child in the USA. " .................... When you say it's cost this much ....who's been paid? Whose pocket did all this money go into ? My guess is dumbied downs paid for it and smarty pants pocketed it. Can money just disappear or does it evaporate and precipitate later???

i reply to "We're being sexist here. Try to keep up." .............................. ..... how to piss off a man (or anybody ??) see above or come on rl show us how it's done..

in reply to "Too bad skydivers can always find a way around any rule. " ........ yeah it would seem that its a bit like holding back the tide....unecesssary if you live on the high ground. Where are our governing bodies on this issue? Obviously having a bit of a snooze. It sounds like the manufacturers are at least trying . If they did do somethinglike the BMI/PFI thing lots of highly skilled people could be recruited to help them sell their canopies. Each DZ would want to have at least one acredited HP canopy instructor. Some manufacturers may even see the potential for enhancing their high performance image if their canopies are so hot that special training is needed. Of course there will most likely always be some skydivers mainly concerned with bypassing common sense. In a slightly more responsibly regulated scene such dankerous leetle law breakers would tend to stick out a bit more than they do now. It could be the responsibility of the HPcanopy Instructors to keep a handle on things. .

Way too pissed off a man . * Bear false witness that ends in him doing time. This one is guaranteed to piss off just about anybody. .....

In the wingsuiting world both PhoenixFly & Birdman Int. have regimens involving the training of users of their products by their respective accredited instructors. This obviously also works as a good marketing tactic. If you have between 200 & 500 skydives it is highly recommended that you receive training from the accredited instructors in the use of both these companies wingsuits. Most DZ's will insist on it or something very close. 500 jumps or over and you can be trusted to train yourself...mostly..... apparently. The line had to be drawn somewhere and it all appears to work OK. It appears that something similar could work very well for the manufacturers of high performance canopies. It would also work well to raise canopy control safety standards if handled responsibly. The wingsuiting jump number recommendations have become generally accepted almost as rules. They are certainly a good rule of thumb....somewhere decent to start from. If the major canopy manufacturers did this accredited instructor thing as well it would show a similar degree of care as PhoenixFly and Birdman int show for the users of their products. These PFI's & BMI's are all round the world happily training away......mostly. It would be reasonable to expect that you are going to be given sufficient training input if you are sold something as high in performance as the modern HP canopies.... in a caring community such as ours ......surely. Are there enough responsible and sufficiently skilled HPcanopy pilots out there willing to instruct potential buyers? PDI's any-one? How about Aerodyne Chief Instructor.? or ????? Got a ring to it????

in reply to"Is it worth considering going head low/down to deal with a PC in tow before the reserve is popped?" .......................... The simple answer is NO ! If you are sure it's a PC in tow DON"T HESITATE. INITIATE EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.............PRONTO. If you have a look over your shoulder often that will clear a burbled PC. If you can't see anything behind you check your pud . It may still be there waiting for you to deploy it properly. If still no joy ..it is a high speed malfunction so immediately initiate your emergency procedures. If you just bang out the reserve without looking or cutting away there is the possibility that the main will deploy giving you two canopies out. This can happen if you are a little too fast onto the reserve as in a panicked state. (Your mains PC may have been woffling in the burble or the PC may still be partially in its pouch.....not quite the same as a PC in tow.) Being in a flat stable position gives your reserve it's best chance of clearing a towed PC and bridle. Being in a head down possy increases the chances of entanglement. All things said and done it really sucks to go in and still have handles that need pulling..... so don't muck with it .... use it/them as you've been trained... and don't forget to practice until your emergency procedures become almost automatic.

in reply to "What we need to see the dissemination of accurate and complete knowledge, along with a unified front on the issue of proper canopy selection. " ............................ Hear Here, ...emphasis on UNIFIED. It's getting obvious what needs doing . If the order doesn't come down from on high ( where are they anyway? ...counting their money????? ) then us down on the coal face should put our combined foot down. as skybytch says 'DZO's, chief instructors - make the canopy proficiency card a requirement for getting an A license at your dropzone, and encourage all jumpers regardless of license to complete it." If this is THE point of control then instead of just encouraging all ....make it a definite requirement. Even the cubs and scouts hand out proficiency badges. Some way of proving your proficiency under canopy is definitely called for before you're let loose to carve your way through the turkeys..or be the sharpest thing since other BS. (NB ..dig at manufacturers advertising ploys )

in reply to ' You're responsible for your own ass " ....................... You've summed up nicely here. Ultimately I agree with you. However.... we have a duty of care to these new arrivals. In the skydiving world there is a constant stream of people who want to experience falling down to the planet. These people place their trust in the people who are doing ,teaching and regulating our sport. Over the years many regulations have been set in stone and most now appear more like common sense rather than resticting laws from a nanny state of mind. It's my prediction that our sport will rise above the apparent lack of responsibility it is currently displaying in some areas( growing pains?) . In the past many great leaders set the pace for all of us. Unfortunately we have outgrown some of their well founded guidance and are now under some influence from a 'point break ' type devil may care subconsciousness. I'd like to know who is in charge these days cause to me it appears that no-one has the power, inclination or balls to say 'Enough is enough. You want to fly a fast parachute ..you learn how properly from some-one who TRULY knows what they're talking about.." this won't stop all accidents but it WILL reduce them. Such people are out there and their experience and caring natures are self evident from the writings and work they have done. Hopefully their voices will be heard above the rabble rules of anything goes.

For me the risks are fully worth it unless the people I get to jump with lose their safety consciousness. Jumping with devil-may -care types REALLY sucks especially when they start bumping & bouncing around you after not listening to 'fuddy duddy' reason. It especially sucks if the bouncees friends continue in their BS anti-safety mode. Then its a good time to find some new sky-buddies..... not necessarily a new sport.

OK & thanks.. these replies give something to work with.

Cascade do some rooly nice ales. Even use pure water fresh from da mountains.......yum but it helps if you're hot and the beers VERY chilly.

Special soft edge leg-straps are available on order.

Does any -one with experience in flocks of 10 or more have any recommendations for multi-exit techniques.? So far the options I've come across are * the circuit turn after exit. This is when the planes flying upwind and the flock turns back towards the DZ on a left or righthand circuit. This seemd to work well with different experience levels and different suits with the turns allowing the older/slower suits to catch up by cutting the corners. * the everyone out and flock along the same direction the plane was going (downwind or upwind ). This caused some problems with the base flyers taking off too fast after their nice exits not enabling the late exiters (tumblers ) to catch up easily. *Just get out and fly back to the DZ...as in follow the leader. Also any thoughts on where to put the least experienced flockers. Do you think they're better off getting out early near the base or chasing from late or ......?